Penal Law § 178.05

Criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions; limitation · as in force on May 31, 2026

§ 178.05 Criminal diversion of prescription medications and

prescriptions; limitation.

1. The provisions of this article shall not apply to:

(a) a duly licensed physician or other person authorized to issue a prescription acting in good faith in the lawful course of his or her profession; or

(b) a duly licensed pharmacist acting in good faith in the lawful course of the practice of pharmacy; or

(c) a person acting in good faith seeking treatment for a medical condition or assisting another person to obtain treatment for a medical condition.

2. No provision of this article relating to the sale of a prescription medication or device shall be deemed to authorize any act prohibited by article thirty-three of the public health law or article two hundred twenty of this chapter.

Official sourcehttps://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/178.05

In plain English

This section limits who the prescription-diversion article covers.

(1) The article does not apply to:
(a) a licensed physician or other person authorized to issue a prescription, acting in good faith in the lawful course of the profession;
(b) a licensed pharmacist acting in good faith in the lawful course of pharmacy practice; or
(c) a person acting in good faith to seek treatment for a medical condition or help another person obtain treatment. ★
(2) Nothing in the article about selling a prescription medication or device authorizes any act prohibited by Public Health Law article 33 or Penal Law article 220.

Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.

In print

This provision appears in Volume 4 — The Court Clerk: Penal Law; Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 3 — The Court Officer: Penal Law; Volume 3 — Your Career: Penal Law in Plain English.